MGM's Louis B. Mayer hated "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950) with a purple passion. Fortunately, John Huston was allowed to direct it anyway — it became the heist movie blueprint for all time. Its procedural detail raised censors' eyebrows — an instruction manual for crooks? #filmnoir
In post-World War II Poland, resistance soldier Maciek Chelmicki (Zbigniew Cybulski) is ordered to assassinate a Communist Party official. But as various factions vie to lead the country he's unsure if he wants to fulfill his assignment. "Ashes and Diamonds" (1958) #filmnoir
Boozy news reporter Paul Baxter (George Nader) gets a tip that could help revive his flagging career. A fugitive gangster is set to show up in public with his face altered by plastic surgery. Baxter lies in wait, but something is off. "Appointment with a Shadow" (1957) #filmnoir
Ambulance driver turned chauffeur Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) gets passionate with heiress Diane Tremayne (Jean Simmons) and ditches his intended, Mary Wilton (Mona Freeman). But who finally ditches who? Frank's a prime candidate for a big fall. "Angel Face" (1953). #filmnoir
Hardline Judge Calvin Cooke (Fredric March) is never lenient with convicted criminals. But when the tables are turned on him he's faced with difficult choices and the troubling consequences of his inflexible principles. "An Act of Murder" (1948) #filmnoir
German art framer Jonathan Zimmermann (Bruno Ganz) insults wealthy American expatriate Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper), setting off a felonious caper that ensnares mild mannered Zimmermann. The two become friends, but it's a perilous allegiance. "The American Friend" (1977) #neonoir
Secret agent Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine), who wears a Bogart-like trench coat, comes to futuristic Alphaville to retrieve a missing agent, neutralize Alphaville's creator and destroy its dictatorial computer, Alpha 60. A Godard classic. "Alphaville" (1965) #neonoir
Nick Beal (Ray Milland) is a stand-in for beezalbub in this Faustian tale of honest D.A Joseph Foster (Thomas Mitchell), who wants to clean up the city. But he makes a deal with “you know who,” and his rise to power comes with a heavy price tag. “Alias Nick Beal” (1949) #filmnoir
Ex-boxer Kevin "Kid" Collins (Jason Patric) meets widow Fay Anderson (Rachel Ward) and her pal "Uncle Bud" (Bruce Dern), who has hatched a scheme. Collins agrees to it, but the other two don't know that the Kid is an escaped mental patient. "After Dark, My Sweet" (1990) #neonoir
Upstanding citizen Frank Enley (Van Heflin) isn't all that he seems to be. In "Act of Violence" (1949), former war buddy Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) makes an unwelcome appearance and Frank's comfortable, small-town life will hereafter be shaken. #filmnoir
Judge Calvin Cooke (Fredric March) takes a hard line against criminals, but his daughter's beau, Atty. David Douglas (Edmond O'Brien), tries to temper the older man's stern views. Then a family incident puts the judge's beliefs to the test. "An Act of Murder " (1948) #FilmNoir
New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther said "Ace in the Hole" (1951) is "a distortion of journalistic practice" and "something of a dramatic grotesque." These days, Billy Wilder's meditation on the public's appetite for tragic spectacle seems prescient. #filmnoir
College Prof. Wilma Tuttle (Loretta Young) fends off a student's attempted assault by beating him to death. She covers up the unpleasantness, but as an investigation proceeds she falls for the dead boy's guardian, Warren Ford (Robert Cummings). "The Accused" (1949) #filmnoir
Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly, ‘Christmas Holiday’ (1944). Crime takes on a different accent when it moves beneath the Mason-Dixon Line in Southern Gothic noir. (Click link to read) #filmnoir crimeonfilm.com/southern-noi...
News reporter Mark Sitko (Dennis O'Keefe) runs into Paula Considine (Gale Storm) who is looking for her sister — the sister recently gave birth. Oily private eye Kerric (Raymond Burr) shadows Paula. Her search brings her to a black-market baby ring. "Abandoned" (1949) #filmnoir
Failing chanteuse Marian Washburn (Maureen O'Hara) admits to shooting her friend, successful vocalist Susan Caldwell (Gloria Grahame). Her manager, Luke Jordan (Melvyn Douglas), and Police Insp. Jim Fowler (Jay C. Flippen) doubt her story. "A Woman's Secret" (1949) #filmnoir
Gene Tierney, ‘Laura’ (1944). Three film noir ‘mentors’ mold younger women into the figures they want, confusing dominance with adoration and control with dedication. #filmnoir (Click link to read.) crimeonfilm.com/the-pygmalio...
Telephone technician Mal Granger (Edmond O'Brien) is hired to upgrade an illegal bookie operation's electronics and ends up deeply enmeshed in the operation. Before long he's fending off cops and rivals. Plus he's romancing his partner's wife. "711 Ocean Drive" (1950) #filmnoir
Punched out boxer Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) takes a beating in and out of the ring in "99 River Street." A former heavyweight contender, he drives a cab and serves as a doormat for nearly everyone. When his girl turns up dead it looks like he's going to take the fall. #filmnoir
One of the more creative uses of montage must be the dramatic cut from the face of a woman about to shriek in terror, to a train whistle's piercing blast. In "The 39 Steps" (1935), Mr. Hitchcock upends our expectations and bracingly moves the story forward. #filmnoir
Ann Nicholson (Ruth Roman) offers John Emmett (Sterling Hayden) a ride after his car breaks down. A woman claiming to be a nurse tells John that Ann is an escaped mental patient. He's not sure who to believe. But soon the cops are after them. "5 Steps to Danger" (1957) #filmnoir
Ronnie (Kerwin Mathews) leads a group of Korean War vets in a scheme to rob a casino. It's meant to be a prank — and to show he can hatch the perfect crime. But there's a snag. "5 Against the House" (1955) #heistfilm
Spiritualist Alexis (Turhan Bey) holds a seance that keeps Christine Faber (Lynn Bari) and her sister Janet (Cathy O'Donnell) in touch with the dead. Christine's deceased husband haunts her every thought. "The Spiritualist" (1948) a.k.a. "The Amazing Mr. X." #filmnoir
Catherine Morland (Jean Rogers) is in the hot seat for the murder of her attorney husband, John (John Eldredge). But the counselor had prison escapee Red Bailey (Douglas Fowley) for a client, and there might be more to the case than it seems. "Backlash" (1947) #filmnoir
A buddy from Chicago gives newspaper columnist Johnny Denton (Richard Conte) red-hot info on local mobsters. The friend is involved with "charities," but his knowledge of gangland activities would almost make you think he's an insider. "The Big Tip Off" (1955) #crimedrama #noir
Clifton Webb, Gene Tierney, ‘Laura’ (1944). Three film noir ‘mentors’ mold younger women into the figures they want, confusing dominance with adoration and control with dedication. #filmnoir (Click link to read.) crimeonfilm.com/the-pygmalio...
Stella Stevenson (Janice Rule) vigorously defends her husband Trevor (Ralph Meeker) when he's accused of murdering a cantina waitress on their first night in Acapulco. But when a blackmailer pays a visit she begins to have her doubts. "A Woman's Devotion" (1956) #filmnoir
Nightclub chanteuse Ilona Vance (Vera Ralston) is the last person to see crooked attorney Frank Hobart (Sidney Blackmer) alive, and Lt. Roy Hargis (David Brian) attempts to prove her innocence after she's been ... "Accused of Murder" (1956) #filmnoir
Stephen (Peter Reynolds), the troubled son of a university professor, accidentally kills a pedestrian, then turns to a life of petty crime. But the ante is upped when he murders a night watchman. "Black 13" (1953) #filmnoir
